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Best Engine of All Time

The engine type is to be used to classify specific powerplants used in an automobile. These may be year-specific, but more frequently they often span multiple years, models, makes and generations.Try to be descriptive in the display name of an engine topic. Include the year(s), manufacturer, displacement and any nickname it might have so it's easier to locate via autocomplete.

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The BMW M10 was a straight-4 SOHC piston engine produced from 1962 to 1988 with displacements ranging from 1499 cc to 1990 cc. The engine was very successful, with over 3.5 million produced across many BMW models. It was also used as the basis for the turbocharged BMW M12 motorsport engine which produced over 700 kW.
The engine was designed by noted engineer and race driver Baron Alex von Falkenhausen. In the late 1950s, he was asked to design a small-displacement (1.3 L) engine, but felt that this would be insufficient for the company's future needs. Therefore, he convinced BMW that the capacity should be 1.5 L instead and he designed a block that could be expanded to 2.0 L in future.
The BMW M40 series of engines replaced the M10 in the late 1980s.
The engine was initially known as the "M115" (the last two digits representing the 1.5 litre capacity). Over the years, variants of the engine were given various codes (most of them starting with "M1..." and the remaining digits relating to the capacity). In 1975, the engine became known as then "M10", then in 1980 it was given the standardised BMW engine code of M10B18 (where "M10" represents the series and the "18" represents the

The straight-six engine or inline-six engine (often abbreviated I6 or L6) is an internal combustion engine with the cylinders mounted in a straight line along the crankcase with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft. The bank of cylinders may be oriented at any angle, and where the bank is inclined to the vertical, the engine is sometimes called a slant-six. The straight-six layout is the simplest engine layout that possesses both primary and secondary mechanical engine balance, resulting in much less vibration than engines with fewer cylinders.
In automobiles, the straight-six design is used for engine displacements ranging from approximately 2 to 5 litres (120 to 310 cu in). It is also sometimes used for smaller engines but these, although very smooth running, tend to be rather expensive to manufacture in terms of cost-to-power ratio. Since the length of an engine is roughly proportional to the number of cylinders in one bank (plus the width of one connecting rod in a "V" engine), the straight-six is necessarily longer than alternative layouts such as L4, V6, or V8.
The smallest production straight-six was found in the Benelli 750 Sei motorcycle, displacing 747.7 cc

The Ferrari 550 Maranello and 550 Barchetta are 2-seat grand tourers built by Ferrari. Introduced in 1996, the 550 was an upmarket front-engined V12 coupe of the kind not seen since the Daytona. It shared its platform and 5.5 L (5474 cc) engine with the 2+2 456 (Engine Code: F133) but was positioned as the company's highest-end model. The car used a transaxle layout, with the 6-speed manual gearbox located at the back, in-line with the driven wheels. The model number refers to total engine displacement (5.5 litres) and the model name of Maranello refers to the town where the Ferrari headquarters are located.
The demise that same year of the F512 M left the company with only the exotic F50 and V8 F355 as mid-engined models. Although the 550 was a softer GT model, it did take the place of the F512 M as the company's upmarket coupe, discounting the F50.
The 550 featured a luxurious and roomy interior. The (rear) trunk was tall and wide, though not very deep, and could accept a full set of golf clubs or standard overnight bags. 3,083 units were produced.
The 550 line was replaced by the Modificata 575 M Maranello in 2002.
The engine is a naturally aspirated V12 with 4 valves per

A V6 engine is a V engine with six cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of three cylinders, usually set at either a right angle or an acute angle to each other, with all six pistons driving a common crankshaft. It is the second most common engine configuration in modern cars after the inline four.
The V6 is one of the most compact engine configurations, shorter than the inline-4 and in many designs narrower than the V8. Owing to its compact length, the V6 lends itself well to the widely-used transverse engine front-wheel drive layout. It is becoming more common as the space allowed for engines in modern cars is reduced at the same time as power requirements increase, and has largely replaced the inline-6, which is too long to fit in many modern engine compartments. Although it is more complicated and not as smooth as the inline-6, the V6 is more rigid for a given weight, more compact and less prone to torsional vibrations in the crankshaft for a given displacement. The V6 engine has become widely adopted for medium-sized cars, often as an optional engine where an inline-4 is standard, or as a base engine where a V8 is a higher-cost performance option.
Recent forced

Cadillac was the first automobile maker to mass produce a V8 engine. The company has produced eight generations of V8s since 1914, and was the last General Motors division to retain its own V8 design.
The Type 51 was the first Cadillac V8. Introduced in 1914, it was the standard engine for 1915 Cadillac models. It was a 90° design with an L-head (sidevalve) configuration and was water-cooled. Bore was 3.125 in (79 mm) and stroke was 5.125 in (130 mm), for a total of 314 cu in (5.15 L) of displacement. Output was 70 hp (52 kW).
This engine was designed under the leadership of Cadillac's chief engineer 1914-1917, Scottish-born D (D'Orsay) McCall White (1880 -), later a vice president of Cadillac. Hired by Henry Leland for his V-engine expertise from his employment as chief engineer at Napier, and previously Daimler, he was later to move to Nash with LaFayette. White was appointed to a committee of three to supervise the development of the V12 Liberty Aircraft Motor.
The engine was refined for 1923 with a new split crankshaft that introduced the (now standard) 90° offset for each pair of cylinders. Power was up to 83.5 hp (62 kW).
The L-Head was on the Ward's 10 Best Engines of the

The Ford Vulcan V6 is a 3.0 L (2,986 cc (182.2 cu in)), 60° V6 engine with an iron block and iron heads, used in some of Ford Motor Company's vehicles from model years 1986 through 2008. It was originally designed to be the optional engine in the Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable. In 1992, it became the standard engine for the Taurus, and was the only engine available in the 2006–2007 Taurus. It was also used in the Ford Probe, the Ford Tempo and Mercury Topaz from 1992–1994 (optional, but standard in the 1992 GLS, XR5, and LTS models), the Ford Aerostar and Ford Windstar minivans, and the Ford Ranger and Mazda B3000 pickup trucks. It replaced the Cologne 2.9 engine (to which it is not related) as the base V6 in the Ranger.
The Vulcan was a clean-sheet design using the metric system. The engine block was cast by Cleveland Casting Plant from tooling built by Sherwood Metal Products, the intake came from Ford's Essex Casting, and the engine was assembled at Ford's Lima engine plant in Lima, Ohio.
The Vulcan is a straightforward pushrod design, with 2 valves per cylinder. Its bore is 89.0 mm (3.50 in) and its stroke is 80.0 mm (3.15 in). The engine was designed to use electronic fuel

A straight-three engine, also known as an inline-triple, or inline-three (abbreviated I3 or R3), is a reciprocating piston internal combustion engine with three cylinders arranged in a straight line or plane, side by side.
Most straight-three engines employ a crank angle of 120°, and are thus rotationally balanced; however, since the three cylinders are offset from each other, the firing of the end cylinders induces a rocking motion from end to end, since there is no opposing cylinder moving in the opposite direction as in a rotationally balanced straight-six engine. The use of a balance shaft in an antiphase to that vibration produces a smoothly running engine.
An exception to the 120° crankshaft can be found in some of the straight-three engines made by motorcycle manufacturer Laverda. In these engines (sometimes referred to as 180° triples), the outer pistons rise and fall together like a 360° straight-two engine. The inner cylinder is offset 180° from the outer cylinders. In these engines, cylinder number one fires, then 180° later cylinder number two fires, and then 180° later cylinder number three fires. There is no power stroke on the final 180° of rotation.
The smallest

The Wright R-975 Whirlwind was a series of nine-cylinder air-cooled radial aircraft engines built by the Wright Aeronautical division of Curtiss-Wright. These engines had a displacement of about 975 in³ (16.0 L) and power ratings of 300-450 hp (225-335 kW). They were the largest members of the Wright Whirlwind engine family to be produced commercially, and they were also the most numerous.
During World War II, Continental Motors built the R-975 under license as a powerplant for Allied tanks and other armored vehicles. Tens of thousands of engines were built for this purpose, dwarfing the R-975's usage in aircraft. After the war, Continental continued to produce its own versions of the R-975 into the 1950s; some of these produced as much as 550 hp (410 kW).
Wright introduced the J-6 Whirlwind family in 1928 to replace the nine-cylinder R-790 series. The J-6 family included varieties with five, seven, and nine cylinders. The nine-cylinder version was originally known as the J-6 Whirlwind Nine, or J-6-9 for short. The U.S. government designated it as the R-975; Wright later adopted this and dropped the J-6 nomenclature.
Like all the members of the J-6 Whirlwind family, the R-975 had

The BMW New Class (German: Neue Klasse) was a line of compact sedans and coupes produced by German automaker BMW starting in 1962 with the 1500 and continuing through the last 2002s in 1977.
Powered by BMW's celebrated four-cylinder M10 engine, the New Class models featured a fully independent suspension, MacPherson struts in front, and front disc brakes.
Initially a family of four-door sedans and two-door coupes, the New Class line was broadened to two-door sports sedans with the addition of the 02 Series 1600 and 2002 in 1966. Sharing little in common with the rest of the line beyond the powertrain, these sporty siblings caught auto enthusiasts' attention and established BMW as an international brand. Precursors to the famed BMW 3 Series, the two-doors' success cemented the firm's future as an upper tier performance car maker.
New Class four-doors with numbers ending in "0" were replaced by the larger BMW 5 Series in 1972. The upscale 2000C and 2000CS coupes were replaced by the six-cylinder BMW E9, introduced in 1969 with the 2800CS. The 1600 two-door was discontinued in 1975, the 2002 replaced by the 320i in 1975.
Introduced in September 1961 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the

The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft. Where it is inclined, it is sometimes called a slant-four. In a specification chart or when an abbreviation is used, an inline-four engine is listed either as I4 or L4 (for longitudinal, to avoid confusion between the digit 1 and the letter I).
The inline-four layout is in perfect primary balance and confers a degree of mechanical simplicity which makes it popular for economy cars. However, despite its simplicity, it suffers from a secondary imbalance which causes minor vibrations in smaller engines. These vibrations become worse as engine size and power increase, so the more powerful engines used in larger cars generally are more complex designs with more than four cylinders.
Today almost all manufacturers of four-cylinder engines for automobiles produce the inline-four layout, with Subaru's Flat-four engine being a notable exception, and so four-cylinder is synonymous with and a more

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